Reed sanding machine

ABSTRACT

A jig is provided for supporting an elongated strip of reed material with the concave surface thereof disposed upwardly. The jig is mounted for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis and an actuator is connected to one end of the jig for raising and lowering the jig into and out of close proximity with a cylindrical sanding belt mounted for rotation about a fixed horizontal axis orthogonal to the pivot axis of the jig to sand the concave end of the reed and impart the desired taper to the end of the reed.

United States Patent [191 Roscoe et a1.

[ 1 Sept. 2, 1975 REED SANDING MACHINE [75] Inventors: James C. Roscoe, Gaithersburg;

Ronald B. Orcutt, Rockville, both of Md.

[73] Assignee: M. M. Meason, Inc., Rockville, Md.

[22] Filed: July 9, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 486,931

[52] US. Cl. 51/96; 51/143; 51/234 [51] Int. Cl. B24B 9/18 [58] Field of Search 5l/96, 143, 234, 216 R, 51/124 R; 269/270 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,873,612 8/1932 Martell 51/124 R 2,425,234 8/1947 Erwin 51/96 2,802,310 8/1957 Chaplik 51/96 3,258,880 7/1966 Garin 51/124 R X 3,432,159 3/1969 Rakatansky 269/270 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,104,377 4/1961 Germany 51/96 Primary ExaminerAl Lawrence Smith Assistant ExaminerNichola-s P. Godici Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Sughrue, Rothwell, Mion, Zinn and Macpeak [57 ABSTRACT A jig is provided for supporting an elongated strip of reed material with the concave surface thereof disposed upwardly.- The jig is mounted for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis and an actuator is connected to one end of the jig for raising and lowering the jig into and out of close proximity with a cylindrical sanding belt mounted for rotation about a fixed horizontal axis orthogonal to the pivot axis of the jig to sand the concave end of the reed and impart the desired taper to the end of the reed.

3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures REED SANDING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is directed to a machine for sanding reeds of the type used in the musical instruments, more specifically, to a machine having ajig for supporting a piece of reed for pivotal movement into and out of the engagement with a rotating cylindrical sanding belt.

2. Prior Art In the prior manufacture of double reeds suitable for use as the mouth piece for certain musical instruments such as an oboe or a bassoon. a great deal of the cutting and shaping, if not all, was done manually due to the very exacting standards required by professional musicians. This operation generally involved cutting an elongated, narrow strip from the tubular Arondo Donax reed. The center portion of the strip of reed which has a slight natural curvature along the axis thereof is then scraped with a knife to provide an extremely thin section of reed to the point where the reed became translucent. If a mouth piece for an oboe is being made the strip of reed would be folded along a transverse line in the middle of thin central portion. The two thicker ends would then be disposed about a hollow tube and secured thereto by means of a wrapping thread with the two thin edges being disposed contiguous to each other. The reed would then be cut to a finished length by means of a cut parallel to the fold line.

However, for the formation of a mouth piece for a bassoon the reed would also be folded transversely in the middle of the thin central portion but the two thicker ends would be formed into a cylindrical configuration and wrapped while on a temporary mandrel. The double reed would then be removed from the mandrel and the internal surface of the cylindrical reed would be tapered by any suitable means to provide a taper complementary to the standard tapered end of the windpipe for the bassoon. The reed would then be cut to a finished length as before.

In the formation of the internal tapered configuration for the double reed it was necessary to insert some sort of tool into the hollow end of the double reed to ream, scrape, or file the reed material. Such an operation frequently resulted in a split reed, an imperfect taper or in the formation of small protruding fibers which could not readily be removed but which would have a deleterious affect on the sound produced by the reed when played.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a machine which will automatically provide the desired taper to the internal surfaces of the double reed ends prior to the assembling and tying of the thicker ends of the reeds in a cylindrical configuration.

The present machine provides a jig for holding the uncut double reed which is capable of automatically pivoting the end of the reed into engagement with a rotating cylindrical sanding belt at the desired angle to achieve the necessary taper to the concave internal end surface of the reed.

The foregoing and other object features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of a prefered embodiment of the invention as illustrated in the accompany ing drawings. I

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of thejig, partly in section, and sanding machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the jig as shown in FIG. 1 without the sanding machine.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view, partly in section, showing the jig of FIG. 1 in a position where the reed thereon is being sanded.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a partially shaped piece of reed upon which a sanding operation has been performed.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the jig per se showing the details of the upper surfaces thereof for receiving the reed.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a completed double reed for a bassoon.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The sanding machine 10 and the jig assembly 12 shown in FIG. 1 are used for sanding the concave end portion of the reed 14 best shown in FIG. 4. It is desired to form the concave end portion with a slight taper toward the end of the reed in the areas designated as 16 and 18 in FIG. 4. The piece of reed stock illustrated is suitable for making a double reed for a bassoon and the piece of reed stock 14 is cut from the Arondo Donax reed which is in the form of hollow tube. This accounts for the curvature of the piece of reed 14. In the manufacture of double reeds, the central portion of the reed I4 is cut down or scraped at the central por' tion to form a very thin section having a thickess on the order of 0.01 mm. The thickness gradually increases in opposite directions toward the ends of the reed 14. The reed is folded along a transverse center line and before the reed is severed into two pieces, the two thicker ends are disposed about a temporary mandrel and secured together in a form of a cylinder as shown in FIG. 6,by means of a wrapping thread .20. The two thin ends are disposed contiguous to each other at 22 and the internal surface of the cylindrical ends 24 is provided with a conical taper with diametrically opposed lines extending lengthwise of the taper being disposed at an angle as shown in FIG. 6. This taper corresponds to the standard taper on the end of the windpipe of a bassoon so that the mouth piece can be firmly fitted on the windpipe.

In order to accomplish the tapering in the areas 16 and 18 on the ends of the reed 14 the reed is placed in a elongated lever or jig 26 having a recessed central portion 28 and two longitudinally extending concave grooves 30 and 32 in the upper surface thereof at each end. The diameter of the curvature of the grooves 30 and 32 is one-inch which is the average outside diameter of the Arondo Donax reed. A plurality of spring pins 34 are located adjacent the grooves 30 and 32 to assist in locating the reed 14 on thejig. The height of the pins is adjusted so that the pins will engage the sides of the reed but will only protrude above the surface of the jig a distance equal to approximately half the average thickness of the reed, especially at the end adjacent the sanding cylinder to prevent engagement of the pins with the sanding belt. An end stop 36 is secured to one end ofjig 26 to provide an abutment for the end of reed 14. A bracket 38 is secured to one side ofjig 26 adjacent the end stop 36 and a bolt 40 is threaded therethrough to provide an adjustable limit stop for the tilting of jig 26.

The jig 26 is provided with a depending block 42 having an aperture through which the pivot shaft 44 extends. The block and shaft are secured together for rotation by any suitable means (not shown). The opposite ends of the pivot shaft are journaled in bearing blocks 46 and 48 which are bolted to the support plate 50.

One or more shims 52 may be placed under each of the bearing blocks 46 and 48 to adjust the height of the jig relative to the table and the sander.

A double acting piston and cylinder assembly 54 is secured in aperture 56 in the table 58. A piston rod 60 extends from the upper end of the assembly 54 and is pivotally connected at 61 to a link 62 which in turn is pivotally connected at 63 to the end of the jig 26.

A limit switch 64 is mounted on the table 58 adjacent the opposite end of the jig 26. A switch actuator arm 66 is arranged to engage the stop member 36 as the jig is pivoted about its axis. The switch actuator arm 66 will depress the plunger 68 to activate the switch.

The sander which is mounted on the table 58 is comprised of an electric motor 70 having a drive shaft 72 with means on the end of the shaft for mounting a one-inch diameter sanding belt 74. Thus, the curvature of the cylindrical sander is approximately equal to the curvature of the reed to be sanded. By adjusting the height of the pivot shaft 44 by the use of shims or any other suitable means the amount of the taper imparted to the end of the reed by the cylindrical sander can be varied.

In operation, a piece of reed similar to that shown in FIG. 4 is placed on the jig 26 with the ends disposed in the grooves 30 and 32 as shown in FIGS. 1-3. A switch (not shown) is then actuated to supply fluid under pressure to the cylinder assembly 54 to extend the piston rod 60 and thereby pivot the jig 26 about the axis of shaft 44. As the jig is pivoted from the position shown in FIG. 1 to the position shown in FIG. 3 the end of the reed will be engaged by the cylindrical sanding belt 74 to provide a slight taper to the concave surface of the reed end. The degree of taper can be varied by varying the height of thepivot shaft 44 relative to shaft 22 of the sander. However, since the taper on the windpipe of the bassoon is standard it is only necessary to initially position the shaft 44 at the correct height to give the desired taper to the reed which will be complementary to the taper of the windpipe on the bassoon. Further adjustments are not necessary. The average thickness of an unsanded piece of reed at the end is 1.20 millimeters and the adjustable stop 40 and the limit switch 64 are adjusted so that the thickness of the extreme ends of the reed will be reduced down to 0.85 millimeters. As soon as the limit switch 64 is operated the fluid under pressure to the double acting piston and cylinder assembly 54 will be reversed and the piston rod 60 retracted to return the jig to the position shown in FIG. 1. Additional suitable limit means (not shown) are provided to limit the retracting movement of the piston rod 60. The operator can then reverse the reed end for end on the jig and repeat the operation to perform an identical sanding operation on the opposite end of the reed. As previously mentioned the reed can then be folded on a transverse line at the thinnest mid portion thereof, placed on a cylindrical mandrel, tied in the manner shown in FIG. 6 and then cut. By sanding the ends of the reed to provide the necessary taper prior to the formation of the completed double reed it is possible to inspect the reed to make sure there are no cracks in the ends or hair-like protuberances on the concave surface of the reed'which would adversely affect the sound characteristics of the reed. By sanding the ends of the reed to achieve the taper prior to tying the reed there is less chance of splitting the reed and it is possible to provide a more uniform taper so that the completed double reed will fit tightly on the windpipe of a bassoon.

The invention has been particularly described with reference to a prefered embodiment thereof but it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form or in detail may be made therein without departing the spirit or scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A reed sanding machine comprising cylindrical sanding means, means for rotating said cylindrical sanding means about the longitudinal axis thereof, jig means including an elongated work supporting lever for supporting an elongated segment of a cylindrical reed, said elongated lever being disposed in the same vertical plane with the axis of said sanding means, pivot means for supporting said lever for pivotal movement about an axis orthogonal to the axis of said cylindrical sander, said lever having one end thereof disposed beneath said cylindrical sander when said lever is disposed horizontally so that upon upward pivotal movement of said end a tapered configuration will be imparted to the end of a reed thereon by engagement with said cylindrical sander.

2. A reed sanding machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said lever is provided with concave grooves in the upper surface thereof complementary to the natural curvature of the reed and further comprising stop means disposed adjacent said grooves for retaining a reed in said grooves during engagement with said cylindrical sander.

3. A reed sanding machine as set forth in claim 1 further comprising means for pivoting said lever and limit means for automatically controlling the amount of pivoting. 

1. A reed sanding machine comprising cylindrical sanding means, means for rotating said cylindrical sanding means about the longitudinal axis thereof, jig means including an elongated work supporting lever for supporting an elongated segment of a cylindrical reed, said elongated lever being disposed in the same vertical plane with the axis of said sanding means, pivot means for supporting said lever for pivotal movement about an axis orthogonal to the axis of said cylindrical sander, said lever having one end thereof disposed beneath said cylindrical sander when said lever is disposed horizontally so that upon upward pivotal movement of said end a tapered configuration will be imparted to the end of a reed thereon by engagement with said cylindrical sander.
 2. A reed sanding machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said lever is provided with concave grooves in the upper surface thereof complementary to the natural curvature of the reed and further comprising stop means disposed adjacent said grooves for retaining a reed in said grooves during engagement with said cylindrical sander.
 3. A reed sanding machine as set forth in claim 1 further comprising means for pivoting said lever and limit means for automatically controlling the amount of pivoting. 